Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Yoshihiro Matsuo

Ryukichi Inoue

Akira Kuroda

Ryuichi Kojima

Yoshiyuki Yamazaki

Hisashi Nakahara

Takahiro Uchiyama

Taku Fukita

Masao Umezawa

Akira Yuza

Tatsuo Hamada

Koji Uchiyama

Yoji Tomoyuki

Yuji Nakayashiki

Takuji Uesugi

Goichi Kitadai

Hiroshi Goto

Yoshinori Sugiura

Satoru Taniguchi

Jun Asami

Hirohiko Aiba

Masaki Hirose

Takeshi Niimura

Takashi Honke

Jun Azuma

Shinkichi Yamamoto

Masayuki Fukuda

Seietsu Miura

Yoshihisa Ibaraki

Provided is a driving force transmission device including: an actuator () that, in a case where one of a first annular gear (), a second annular gear (), and a carrier () is an input member, another one is an output member, and the remaining one is a rotational member, causes one of the input member and the output member to rotate integrally with the rotational member. When driving force is inputted from the drive source to the input member and input member is rotated unidirectionally, the rotation direction of the output member in the case where one of the input member and the output member rotates integrally with the rotational member is reversed with respect to that in a case where one of the input member and the output member does not rotate integrally with the rotational member.

Driving force transmission device and image-forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus that forms a toner image on a recording medium includes an image forming unit, a fixing unit, and an output unit. The fixing unit includes a heating member and a backup member. The backup member forms a nip with the heating member. The output unit, provided on a downstream side of the nip, outputs the recording medium to an outside of the apparatus. The recording medium is conveyed at the nip with a side of the recording medium facing the heating member set as an upper side of the recording medium.

Image forming apparatus

The present invention relates to an image heating apparatus in which a nip portion is formed by a heating unit, which includes a flexible sleeve and a heater, and a pressure roller. The position of the heating unit is appropriately maintained by pressing the heating unit against the pressure roller using a pressure member so that the heating unit can contact two or more portions of a downstream side rim of a groove arranged on a frame that holds the heating unit, even when the pressure roller is rotated.

Image heating apparatus having stably positioned heating unit

An image forming apparatus has an apparatus main assembly; an image forming unit; a fixing unit which has a pressure applying mechanism and a cam member; an opening and closing member which is attached to the apparatus main assembly to be capable of being opened and closed; a first gear which is provided at the apparatus main assembly; a second gear which is provided at the fixing unit; and a connection gear which connects the first gear and the second gear. The connection gear is configured to be detachable from between the first gear and the second gear and to be attachable being engaged with both the first gear and the second gear only in a case that the first gear and the second gear are respectively at a predetermined phase.

Image forming apparatus with opening and closing assembly and gears movable therewith

An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet feeding apparatus in which double-feeding of thin sheets can be prevented positively and a thick sheet can be fed positively. To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a sheet feeding apparatus comprising sheet feeding means abutting against a sheet contained in sheet containing means to feed out the sheet, and a separating inclined surface for separating and feeding the sheet fed out by the sheet feeding means one by one, wherein the separating inclined surface can be shifted along a sheet advancing direction with the sheet fed out by the sheet feeding means.

Sheet feeding apparatus and image forming apparatus having same

A paper feeder has a sheet stacking surface for stacking sheets, a paper feeding roller which is in contact with the uppermost surface of the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking surface to feed sheets, a movable separation slope surface against which the stacked sheets abut and which is rotatable between a first position and a second position that differ in the inclination angle made between it and the sheet stacking surface, and a separation control cam for rotating the movable separation slope surface between the first position and the second position. The angle made by the movable separation slope surface and the sheet stacking surface is set to be smaller than the angle when the sheets are separated so that the forward end portion of the pile of sheets stacked will not deform and when the sheets are fed by the paper feeding roller, the angle is set to be the angle when the movable separation slope surface separates the sheets by using the separation control cam.

Paper feeder with movable separation slope surface and image forming apparatus equipped therewith

A sheet feed roller is urged into contact with the upper surface of a sheet at the top of a stack of sheets supported on a sheet support and an inclined separation plane separates a sheet, fed forward by the sheet feed roller, from the other sheets of the stack of the sheets. A rotatable separation roller is disposed between the inclined separation plane and the sheet feed roller such that the separation roller is urged into contact with the upper surface of the sheet fed forward by the sheet feeding roller. The separation roller is movable depending on the rigidity of the sheet so that when the sheet being fed forward has low rigidity, the sheet is bent starting from a line where the sheet is in contact with the separation roller, but when the sheet being fed forward has high rigidity, the separation roller is moved upward thereby allowing the sheet is bent starting from a line where the sheet is in contact with the sheet feed roller.

Sheet feeding apparatus with inclined separation plane, and image forming apparatus having same

The present invention relates to a sheet feeding apparatus which has load transmitter for converting a load of a sheet applied to a rear end side in a sheet feeding-out direction of sheet stacker to a biasing force for biasing a leading end side of the sheet stacker toward sheet feeder.

Sheet feeding apparatus and image forming apparatus

The present invention provides a sheet feeding apparatus which has a sheet stacking surface for supporting sheets, sheet feeding device for feeding out the sheets supported on the sheet stacking surface, a movable separation inclined surface against which leading ends of the sheets supported on the sheet stacking surface abut and which is provided rotatably between a first position and a second position different in an inclination angle of the movable separation inclined surface with respect to the sheet stacking surface, and operation device for switching the movable separation inclined surface between the first position and the second position.

Sheet feeding apparatus

An exhaust mechanism for use in an image development apparatus exhausts air from within the apparatus, taking advantage of an air flow generated by the heating of a fixing unit without the need for an air blower. The apparatus includes a transport path for allowing a recording medium, to which a toner image formed on a photoconductive body, is transferred, to pass therethrough, a transfer unit disposed below the photoconductive body for transferring the toner image to the recording medium, the fixing unit having a heater, and a partitioning plate which separates a space formed below the transfer unit from a space that accommodates the photoconductive body, a toner image forming unit, and the fixing unit, and which is provided with an opening for permitting air to flow near the transfer unit. With this arrangement, a ventilation path for exhausting air outwardly from within the apparatus is formed without the need for the air blower, in which a rising air flow is exhausted, passing through the opening in the partitioning plate, near the transfer unit, and through an opening formed in the cabinet of the body of the apparatus.

Image forming apparatus with ventilation

An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material includes an image bearing member; and optical mechanism for projecting light corresponding to image information onto the image bearing member; a developer for developing a latent image formed on the image bearing member into a toner image; a transfer mechanism for transferring the toner image onto a recording material; a fixer for fixing the toner image transferred onto the recording material; a first support for supporting the recording material to be fed to the transfer mechanism; and a second support for supporting the recording material which has been subjected to a fixing operation of the fixer. Air ducts are provided along the back side supporting surfaces of the first support and the second support which overlap in a horizontal direction with the optical mechanism therebetween. A sheet feeding position, an image transfer position, and an image fixing position take lower positions in the order named.

Growing community of inventors

Susono, Japan

Yoshihiro Matsuo